The National Labour Commission has opened a Regional Office of the Commission in the Ashanti Region to serve the Ashanti Region and also service the Northern Regions in the interim. The Office is located at Ahodwo.
The inauguration of the office also saw the swearing into office of a Three-Member Tripartite Regional Committee of the Commission charged with the responsibility of the facilitation of the settlement of industrial disputes and the settlement of industrial disputes. The Program took place on 21st October, 2019.
The establishment of the Regional Labour Committee is in line with 144(1) of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), which provides that: “Notwithstanding section 141, the Commission may establish in such Regional and District Capitals as it considers necessary, Regional and District Labour Committees.”
The Members of the Regional Labour Committee are Mrs. Naomi Dedei Otoo representing Organised Labour, Mrs. Georgina Yeboah representing Employers Organization and Lawyer Kwame Adom Appiah, representing Government.
In their acceptance Speech, Lawyer Kwame Adom on behalf of his colleagues thanked the social partners for their nominations and pledged the Committee’s commitment to deliver justice fairly in order not to betray the trust reposed in them by the Commission.
The establishment of a Regional Committee in the Ashanti Region is the second of the four (4) Regional Committees planned to be established under the Commission’s medium-term strategy of decentralizing its activities and bringing the services of the Commission closer to its clients especially where these services are mostly needed.
The Committee Members were sworn into Office by His Lordship, Justice Kofi Akrowiah, the Supervising High Court Judge of Ashanti Region. He administered both the Oath of Office and Oath of Secrecy to the newly appointed members.
Justice Akrowiah noted that the successful resolution of industrial disputes will promote economic growth and also build strong relationship between employees and employers in the region.
He advised the newly appointed Committee Members to adhere to the tenets of Act 651 in the discharge of their duties.
Mr. Andrew K. Asamoah, the Chairman of the National Labour Commission in his inaugural remarks said the Commission belongs to both the rich and the poor because its services are less expensive and accessible compared to the traditional courts. He noted that the Commission intends to build a robust environment in the Region to reduce the stress of aggrieved workers in the Ashanti Region and its environs.
Mr. Ofosu Asamoah the Executive Secretary of the Commission, on his part urged the various representatives of the Unions in the Region to support the work of the Commission to make it not only efficient but also effective.
Nana Opoku Ababio from the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council who represented the Ashanti Regional Minister expressed delight at the establishment of an office in the region. He observed that once the proper structures are put in place there will be industrial peace that will promote investor confidence and also ensure economic stability.
As part of the program, there was a sensitization workshop for social partners on the Labour Act, which was facilitated by Mr. Paul Osei- Mensah, a former Member of the Commission. He took participants through key aspects of the employment relationship as well as Labour Dispute Resolution and Unfair Labour Practices. His presentation was preceded by a General Overview of the Act.
The workshop concluded with a panel discussion on the work of the Commission by Mrs. Rose Karikari Anang, Deputy
Chairperson and Mr. Patrice Fidelis Seddoh, Member of the Commission who were panelists for the session.
At the end of the program, participants representing the social partners in the Region expressed their joy and appreciation to the Commission for taking such an important step to establish a Labour Committee in the Region and pledged their support to the work of the Commission.